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Preparedness exercise a good reminder to us all

Posted: February 10, 2012 - 9:31am

Through Sunday, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Emergency Management Department and other volunteer groups and agencies will take part in a statewide initiative aimed at better preparing for emergencies, many of which have been, and likely will be again, realities in our state.

Along with state officials, various utility providers and other volunteer agencies, the borough participated in Alaska Shield 2012 drills to test the abilities of communities across the state to respond to an emergency -- in this case, the scenario calls for extreme cold weather.

We applaud those efforts of the borough and state on the initiative. It is no small task to get nine local jurisdictions, four state agencies, four federal agencies, two military branches, six private industry participants and three non-profits across the state to come together for one week.

Moreover, the borough's part in the drill -- focusing on providing public information and mass sheltering of residents, including a mock loss in natural gas pressure -- is no small task either. A host of people, organizations and volunteers were involved and they deserve a bit of recognition.

In fact, the borough's drill is one that could very well be a reality for Peninsula residents -- in fact, recent windstorms and power outages led emergency managers to open a shelter just a couple months ago. We're glad to see those exercises being practiced and the skills associated with quick and precise responses sharpened. When it comes to emergencies, preparation is key.

Mother nature can be especially nasty in Alaska, even on the Peninsula where eruptions from our volcanoes, earthquakes, avalanches on our highway, and wildfires in our back yards are all possibilities -- in addition to the usual host of snotty winds, rain, snow and icy conditions.

Let's use the borough's drills as a reminder to do our own preparation. This weekend we'd encourage you and yours to imagine what you would do in case of a fire, flood, volcanic eruption or general evacuation and then make sure you have the necessary items on hand, in place and in working order.

Do you have enough food and water for seven days? What about other things like medications, first aid supplies and other life essentials? Visit the borough's Office of Emergency Management website for other tips and ideas at www2.borough.kenai.ak.us/emergency/default.htm.

Such questions might elicit eye rolling from the younger generations or thoughts of one's mother asking if they had everything they needed before a long trip. But emergency preparedness is no matter to ignore or dismiss -- it can be the difference between life and death for you and those you love.

In short: Emergency preparedness is serious business. We'd like to thank all of the agencies and persons who helped make the borough's part in Alaska Shield 2012 a successful one for looking out in our best interests. We'd also encourage all of you to make sure you are prepared as well.

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So very glad to see this as none of us know what the next hour may bring forth in our lives in the form of a disaster, emergency.
It could come in many forms like an earthquake, freezing weather, economic collapse or war, we just don't know whats gonna happen next, but we do have many early warning systems, if we would just pay attention to them & prepare.
The public used to be alot more informed about emergencies with many early warning systems, even if it was bad info like hiding under your desk for protection against Tornado's or nuclear bombs from Cuba, not gonna help.

Americas citizens have no clue of what to do to increase likelyhood to survive after many types of emergencies, let alone a nuclear bomb attack or fallout from one, or economic collapse with no means to buy any needed things to survive.
If a person is not directly hit or in the blast area, their chances can be greater if they have prepared with water, food, medical & a few other items that allow them to remain inside for a couple days, as the radiation subsides to manageable levels, not the case with economic collapse.

I would say one thing about the comment concerning young people that may be skeptical, its not just the young, its also older folks, folks that only want to hinder knowledge, or information warning people of coming troubles, troubles that are screaming in our faces of how we need to prepare.

Make no mistake folks, Troubles are coming World wide real soon. The question is will you take the warning signs and prepare, or will you be mislead by those that seem to be intentionally downplaying the need to prepare, physically & spiritually?

As i've said many times we are all in a Spiritual war, a war of Good, against Evil, a war ment to save or destroy mankind & all of creation, nature.
The question is have you prepared for the fight, and whose side are you fighting for, as there are only Two sides?
Are you helping or hurting others chances to survive coming troubles because of your OPINIONS and unwillingness to except the early warnings, even to the point of name calling to those that are only trying to help others?

Thanks for the Borough emergency web site, i will check it out for the many GR8 ideas to help survive physically in our coming troubles, i will also continue to check out Gods web pages for GR8 spiritual ways of surviving this war we are ALL in as well.
As long as a person is alive they have hope of surviving into eternity, thats my goal, to help people survive the coming economic collapse & WWIII, and then maybe then they will see the Signs of the Times, and the Spiritual war being waged against us all.